| Spring 2007 Newsletter |
Who’s That Man?We are rather chuffed that a Pannell has also made it into the Western Australian Who’s Who. Bill was delighted to be included in the 2007 edition of the book, which lists prominent Western Australians for their accomplishments in various fields of endeavour. Bill was recognised for his achievements in the state’s wine industry over many years. The family has been very much a part of WA’s modern era of viticulture and winemaking and has been instrumental in the development of the Margaret River (establishing the second vineyard in Margaret River, after Vasse Felix) and Pemberton regions for the production of fine wines. We think it is fitting that Bill has been recognised for his role in the coming of age of the WA industry.
The Pannell Family is pleased to invite you to their Spring Release Tasting to be held at the Perth Flying Squadron Yacht Club 4th October 2007. A highlight of the Spring tasting will be the opening of five vintages of the Picardy Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc for your appraisal. A consistently excellent wine that has developed and been refined with each passing year, this line up will be a rare treat for those that enjoy this St-Emillon/Pomerol style blend.James HallidayAustralian Wine Companion 2008Hardie Grant Books Picardy *****Picardy Chardonnay 2005A beautifully crafted wine; melon, stone fruit and grapefruit in a silken web of quality oak, long finish. Rating 96 To 2014 (James also rated the 2005 Picardy Chardonnay in the ‘Best of the Best’ By Variety) Picardy Tete de Cuvee Pinot Noir 2005Fragrant and flowery lush red fruit aromas; rich and mouthfilling, in no way a copy of Burgundy; long life ahead. Rating 94 To 2015 Picardy Shiraz 2004An aromatic bouquet of fresh red fruits flows into a palate where red and black cherry plus spice lead the band; silky mouthfeel with very good oak and tannin balance. Rating 94 To 2020 Picardy Merlimont 2003Some of the same oak as in the 04 but much more fruit to justify it; cassis, blackcurrant and a touch of raspberry; good tannin structure, and a lovely juicy finish. Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/ Cabernet Franc. Rating 94 to 2023 Picardy Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc 2004Strong smoky bacon oak aromas; medium bodied, with an attractive array of red fruits, soft and round; cassis, raspberry and blackcurrant. Rating 92 To 2014 Pannell Family Trial Batch No.1 Sauvignon Blanc 2006Elegant, lively and fresh thanks in part to the moderate alcohol; an appealing mix of flavours starts herbaceous and ends with tropical passionfruit…. Rating 91 To 2008 Picardy Pinot Noir 2005… Powerful plum and black cherry fruit; finish a touch tannic/ hard needing time. Rating 91 to 2013 NOTE: ***** Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity. Only 6.5% of Australian wineries made this grade.{mospagebreak}New Releases Although the 2006 vintage was a very difficult vintage in terms of the weather, because of the very cool season it produced great Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. 2006 ChardonnayBill and Dan Pannell believe this is the best Chardonnay from Picardy to date, and it’s easy to see why – it is a beautifully refined wine with gentle complexity and fine fruit nuances to the fore. Indeed if wine could be defined in dance terms, this chardonnay is a prima ballerina among too many other styles still plodding out the waltz (with varying degrees of proficiency!) While much Australian chardonnay remains overly ponderous, this wine is a testament to delicacy and subtlety. One of the yeast strains trialled in the 2005 Picardy Chardonnay was used again alongside the primary yeast in this wine. This made the blend more complex and added a fuller mid-palate. There is a refined nose showing floral, peach and flinty aromas. The palate has excellent structure, with quite luscious fruit and tight tangy acid. Gentle fruit flavours are complex and include lime zest, with hints of mineral, hazelnut, lemon, and pear and honey as secondary characters. These characters will develop with careful aging for five to ten years. The careful and limited use of oak shows through, extending the palate with a lingering savoury finish. The Pannell’s objective to make WA’s most refined and complex chardonnay is coming closer with each passing vintage! Melbourne ‘The Age’, Epicure. November 7th, 2006 Written by Ralph Kyte-Powell Indulge yourself Picardy Chardonnay 2005 A stylish French-accented chardonnay from Pemberton, WA, which is more about complexity and texture than simple fruit. The nose has wholemeal and nut touches to peach character, with a thread of gingerbread oak and a hint of burnt match. The palate is seamless, fine and lingering with a tasty, lip-smacking finish.Aging? Drink over three years.Food ideas: Salmon; soft cheeses.***** $$ SCOOP Spring 2006, by Alex Hudak, Alan Dinneen, David Watson, Paul McArdle White Magic Pick of the region Picardy 2005 ChardonnayAwarded: Gold (18.5) Delicate fruit character with purity and clarity; well-sustained by a significant acidic component that also lightens the body. There is genuine freshness, tight, complex layers of fruit with clever use of oak and lees handling. The fruit concentration provides a long but subtle, elegant finish. Beautifully crafted. Saturday, Nov 25 2006 Written by Gary Walsh Picardy Chardonnay 2005 I have many chardonnays to taste over the coming weeks and it is always good to start things off with a bang. Bang! Aroma of melon, white peach, citrus, nuts, spicy oak, a little buttered popcorn and quite a few struck matches. Rather wild and most attractive. On the palate excellent intensity with nutty savoury oatmeal flavours and bright white peach, melon and grapefruit. It is lightly buttery but backed with a very firm spine of acidity. Powerful and seamless. Dry distinctly savoury finish that goes on and on. I am very enthusiastic about this wine. It’s an absolute beauty! Rated: 95 Points
2007 Pannell Family Trail Batch Sauvignon BlancThis Sauvignon Blanc has exceeded all expectations for the Pannells. Like Marlborough in New Zealand, Pemberton has all the key attributes for producing world-beating Sauvignon Blanc. The soils, micro climate, temperature gradients (moderated by the altitude and southern latitude) and terrain are ideally suited to the style, and the only real surprise is why more of the variety has not been planted in the area before now. It’s a perfect white fit for Pemby. This Pannell Family wine is about to change all that – expect to see a lot more of this popular easy drinking variety going in across the region. The Pannells were looking for a vibrant, complex New Zealand style without the sometimes tell-tale astringent green characters that are sometimes part and parcel of the wines from across the Tasman. They have achieved this commendably. Here is a beautifully developed, vibrant, fruit infused wine displaying pristine varietal characters that almost seems to dance in the class. Powerful, full of spectral citrus nuances and finesse across the palate with a lingering friendly acid finish, this is an impressive wine indeed. Truth be told, it is among the most impressive new Sauvignon Blancs to emerge from a WA region in a very long time. Pannell Family Trial Batch No 1 Sauvignon Blanc 2006Saturday, Feb 3 2007Gary Walsh It says on the front label “This is not a Picardy wine. In preparation for Picardy’s first sauvignon blanc, semillon harvest in 2008, the Pannell family have made this second trial batch of sauvignon blanc, with fruit from a neighbouring vineyard”.When they do make their first one I hope they do a white Bordeaux style. I don’t think we have enough of them in Australia. I must also say that they must be cork enthusiasts of the highest order over there because this is sealed with one. Pale colour. Aromas of tropical fruit (banana, passionfruit, guava etc), grass, musk and spice with a rub of blackcurrant buds. Nice. On the palate crisp and fresh with grassy gooseberry, guava, blackcurrant and musk stick flavours. Quite light and subdued. Dilute, perhaps, but I prefer to call it subtle. Finishes with herbal blackcurrant flavours. Rated : 88 Points Sunday Times, STM, STM top 100. November 26, 2006 Written by Peter Forrestal Top West Australian Wines 2006 Pannell Family Trial Batch Sauvignon Blanc 18.5 This is a brilliant white that highlights Pemberton’s affinity with the variety. Fragrant, varietally pure, plump yet zippy with cool tropical fruit flavours and lingering passionfruit. MAX ON PICARDY WINES Eatingwa.com.au, 13 September 2006 By Max Vanhezen In preparation for the release of its own Bordeaux-style Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc blend, the Pannells released a trial batch Sauvignon Blanc using fruit from a neighbouring property. And how did it rate? For a first release, Dan has set himself a lofty benchmark for subsequent releases – the 2006 Pannell Family Trial Batch Sauvignon Blanc may be a departure from the softly spoken and subtle Picardy house style, but I doubt too many will mind. The nose is full of clean pineapple and tropical fruit aromas and the palate is an intense mouthful of flavour that finishes long and juicy. I’m not sure how much is available and where from (other than mail order), but I’m thankful that I’ve been able to grab a case of this little ripper. If I still have bottles left after February, I’ll be extremely proud of myself.
2005 Tete de Cuvee Pinot NoirThere’s no hiding the fact that this beautifully rich Pinot contains a good amount of fruit from Bill Pannell’s coveted “Burgundy” vineyard. This is a superb, mouth-filling red wine with profound varietal characters. The wine is truly made as much through traditional, studied, hands-on viticulture as it is by techniques in the winery. Bill’s vineyard is planted with traditional Burgundian row spacings and trellis heights. It’s a real back breaker and much more work per acre than the other Picardy vines, but Bill would have it no other way. The proof is in the bottle. This vintage has an incredibly complex aroma, as should all fine Pinot. Beneath intense berry fruit characters are bready, biscuity, briar, leather, honey, sweet oak and truffle nuances. Palate weight and concentration are exceptional, with sweet fruit balanced by a hint of cherry pip. Structure is maintained by balanced acidity and lots of ripe, silky tannins. The great complexity and concentration can be attributed to very low yields and a long, cool vintage.Bill says that it is definitely the best Pinot released by Picardy so far and one of the best wines he has ever been involved in making. Picardy “Tete de Cuvee: Pinot Noir 2005 www.winorama.com.au - Gary Walsh Tuesday June 5, 2007 I look at the bottle and feel like getting out my chain mail and jousting sticks…and then playing skittles. Love the packaging. I really fancied the standard pinot so it was not without a little anticipation that I opened the “Tete de Cuvee” which means something along the lines of ‘Top Brew’. More or less. I tasted this over two days and it is really singing now. I don’t need any more wine but the siren song is quite strong. I feel strangely compelled to order three of these and a few of the excellent 2005 Merlot blend.Clear ruby red in colour with complex array of smells including cherry, red fruits, minerals, peat, a little forest, licorice and lovely pencilly oak. It’s medium bodied with flavours of crushed red berries, dark cherry, mineral, a bit of sap and top quality oak. Clean and fresh with firm fine grained tannins. Finishes dry and very long. Don’t expect a fruit bomb. This is subtle and restrained but it’s all there and it’s all class. Rated : 96 Points
2004 MerlimontFans of our big, ripe 2001 Merlimont may find they recognize some of the same power and fruit characters in this wine. In fact the two are quite similar in style. As in past years, this wine is a salute to the classic Bordeaux blend of complementary percentages of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. However unlike some wines that hail from the renowned French wine region, the rich fruit characters in the Picardy are invariably more balanced while pronounced. Such is the primary difference in Australian and French styles. Here you will find wild berry, ripe cherry, chocolate, musk and even some violet on the nose, while the palate is heady with soft sweet blackberry, plum and cassis characters. The mouth-feel is opulent and unctuous, laced with gentle tannins, while the finish is long, heavy with lingering fruit and decidedly savoury. This delightful red blend is unmistakably the product of Pemberton and arguably the best defining example of the Bordeaux trio of grapes in the area. Fabulous with lamb or venison! Picardy - Current Releases and More Ric Einstein, May 15, 2007 Picardy 2004 Merlimont May 07 The bouquet is more expressive than the 2003 showing coffee oak, mulberry, and menthol. Smooth, unobtrusive, drying tannins combined with distinct fruit to form a medium-weight, supple wine with a solid structure, and an agreeable complexity. Mulberry, milk chocolate, coffee oak and a very sour finish completes the picture… Rated as recommended with *** for value, drink from 2007 to 2012. Sealed with a cork, it's $30 direct from the winery.
|